LAST FALL, we dropped by the New York Marriott Marquis to observe the judging of the 1999 Caples Awards entries.
In addition to the curious sight of watching one judge trying to evaluate a dimensional advertising piece that was larger than the table on which it sat, we were treated to such comments as “I know it has a response device, but is it direct?” and “It’s very nice; but we’re not about nice.”
Well, we’re not always about nice either, particularly when it comes to oversized dimensionals, even when they involve direct.
Case in point: toysmart.com.
Toysmart sent us a large box in which there was a tote bag. Inside the tote bag was a press kit, a video, an audiotape, two posters and a Clown Stack – one of those toys for tots that involves putting different size and color rings on a post to, in this case, create a clown. Copy on the side of the box informs us that the stack will teach toddlers (1 year and up) size, color and hand/eye coordination.
Toysmart.com is a Web site for “good toys.” A “good toy” is one that’s fun, educational and open-ended. A “good toy” is not violent or about marketing. The marketing campaign for toys that aren’t about marketing is budgeted at $21 million.
As for violence, a toy that introduces a hard, 5-1/2-inch-long wooden dowel with a flat, unfinished top to a 1-year-old does not sound like a happy mix, since the kid could coordinate its hand to poke out an eye with the dowel. Uh, accidentally. Of course.
We don’t have children ourselves. However, we do have a fair number of honorary nieces and nephews for whom we have bought a number of toys that are safe as well as good. The poor choice of dimensional makes us question the judgment behind toysmart.com’s selection of products. Not good if you’re trying to generate $21 million worth of interest…and, we assume, many more million dollars’ worth of sales.
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